Get stronger!

What do you picture when you think about strength training? Ripped bodies in a gym and racks of barbells? Serious athletes? Intimidating workouts? Those ideas need an update, because there are so many more ways to get stronger and gain all kinds of amazing health and weight-loss benefits in the process.

Any activity where our muscles contract against some type of resistance counts. You don’t need a gym, barbells, dumbbells, or machines. You can do abdominal crunches, push-ups, sit-ups, swim or walk in a pool, work with resistance bands, even lift a water bottle, and get benefits.

And, as explained in your [_Weekly_][jpeg dotcom 1], the benefits are tremendous. You’ll improve strength, muscle tone, endurance, bone strength, and blood pressure. Strength training also helps you burn more energy even when you’re at rest. When combined with aerobic training, it helps improve cardiorespiratory fitness and your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. For all those reasons, strength training earns more FitPoints™ than most activities.

Commonly-held notions about strength training can keep some people from giving it a try. If you’ve ever thought “it’s not for me,” it’s time to bust some myths:

Myth: Strength training will make me too big.

Fact: While lifting very heavy weights can bulk muscles up, using light weights and body weight resistance will lead to increased muscle tone and definition, not size.

Myth: I need to join a gym or buy expensive equipment to do strength training.

Fact: You can get a great resistance workout with only your body weight. And if you want to use some equipment, try resistance bands or fill up some water bottles. You can find excellent resistance training routines online or using audio workout apps (try Aaptiv on the WW app!). Do them at home, outside, wherever.

Myth: Aerobic exercise is better than resistance training because it burns the most calories.

Fact: Combining aerobic with resistance training has the best benefits for your muscle-to-fat ratio, helping you build up more lean muscle tissue while reducing your fat mass.

Myth: I barely have time to do aerobic exercise. Adding strength training will take up too much time.

Fact: Mix it up! Combining aerobic and resistance training in the same workout will not only check both boxes, you’ll earn more FitPoints..

Now that you understand how important strength training is for your body, let’s consider how you’ll make it a healthy and invigorating part of your weight-loss journey.

Starting with 10 to 15 minutes of strength training a week, which you can then build on in future weeks, will provide a lot of health benefits and let you gradually get used to a new way of moving.

Commit to choosing just one day over the next week to add resistance training into your typical activity routine in a new way. You can pick a WW x Aaptiv class like “Find your strength,” do push-ups off the kitchen counter before taking a walk, or bring friends along for bodyweight exercises in the park.

Not sure what to try? Check out the Connect activity groups for inspiration, and earn FitPoints along the way!